Technology in Interpretation

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History and expanding use

            Today, computers are an integral part of our society.  Grocery stores, banks, businesses, space rockets, hospitals, police, cars and hundreds of other services all require computers to operate.  This was especially evident in the year 2000 when a widespread fear swept through the world that the “Y2K bug” would shut down computers.  How did computers become such an important part of our lives? 

According to LaMorte (1999) in his article entitled “Computers: History and Development,” the first computer can be considered the abacus, originating about 5,000 years ago in Asia.  The abacus allowed people to make calculations by sliding various beads along a rod.  Charles Babbage invented the first mechanical computer in 1822.  Babbage was disgusted with gross errors he had found in calculations by the Royal Astronomical Society.  Perceiving a link between the perfect repetitions of steam-powered machines and simple repetitions required for calculations, Babbage created the “Difference Engine.”  The computer, a giant machine as large as a locomotive, could perform simple calculations and print the results automatically.  Later, Babbage also drew up plans for the first general-purpose computer, called the “Analytical Engine.”

            Herman Hollerith was an American inventor who wanted to find a faster way to compute the U.S. census.  By 1890, he had developed a machine that could read punched cards.  Different combinations of punches on the cards represented letters and numbers.  In the previous census, it had taken almost seven years to count the country’s population.  The Hollerith machine reduced that time to six weeks in the 1890 census.  Hollerith founded the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896 through which he marketed his machine.  In 1924, the company became International Business Machines (IBM).

            During World War II, countries began to fund further computer research to increase their strategic importance.  By 1944, Howard Aiken working with IBM developed the first all-electronic calculator for the U.S. Navy.  The machine was “half as long as a football field and contained about 500 miles of wiring” (LaMorte, 1999).   By 1956, the invention of the transistor replaced large, bulky components that had previously been used in computers.  The size of computers began to shrink.  In 1964, electronic components were attached to a single chip made from the mineral quartz, which eliminated overheating.  The “computer chip” allowed computers to shrink at an even faster rate (LaMorte, 1999).

            By 1971, millions of electronic components were included on a single chip.  An entire computer, called a microprocessor, could be condensed to an area half the size of a dime.  Computers found their way into microwaves, cars, garage doors, and televisions.  This condensing of components made computers available to everyone.  In 1981, IBM introduced its first personal computer (PC).  Clones of this computer design caused prices to drop dramatically and purchases to soar.  In 1981, 2 million personal computers were in use.  By 1982, the number had more than doubled to 5.5 million.  Ten years later, the number had risen dramatically to 65 million (LaMorte, 1999). 

            Today, computers continue to get smaller, faster, and more efficient.  The World Wide Web, or Internet, is an immense store of constantly increasing information.  A networking of computers worldwide, the Internet can be accessed from every continent.  According to Moore and Murray (2000), the Internet has over 2.1 billion publicly accessible pages.  Almost 7.2 million unique pages are added each day.  In addition, nearly 550 billion pages can be found in the “deep Web,” which is information stored in topic-specific databases (Bergma, 2000).  According to one estimate, 3% to 4% of all human knowledge is available in digital form on the Internet (Seavey, 1998).

A simple device invented to help with mathematical problems has evolved into a machine that is a necessity in the modern world.  The Information Revolution has impacted every aspect of society and the interpretation field is no exception.

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